Busy voluntary organisations are putting themselves and their staff at risk by failing to keep abreast of changes to key employment legislation, according to new research published today by the Church Urban Fund.
Over sixty percent of the 200 faith-based projects that were surveyed recorded that they have not changed their HR policies following the introduction of the Working Time (Annual Leave) Amendment. A further 54% have ignored the Health Act 2006, 49% the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations and 46% the Disability Discrimination Act. The cause of non-compliance can be attributed to the lack of HR resource available to community projects.
The research was undertaken by Church Urban Fund, as part of a new project to support England's faith-based community organisations. The Church Urban Fund has developed ‘Just Employment', a comprehensive free* HR resource for employing staff in response to the challenges the third sector faces in an increasingly litigious society.
Almost 60% of those surveyed have no access to any professional in-house HR resource, yet almost 30% have had to deal with disputes brought by staff in the last five years. There was evidence that projects rely on informal methods, including family and friends and online resources, to keep up to date with employment regulations.
Tim Bissett, deputy chief executive at Church Urban Fund, says, “We know how difficult it is for busy faith-based organisations to keep abreast of current employment practice and Church Urban Fund is here to help with more than just money. Just Employment provides an invaluable resource, particularly for church based projects, that enables them to easily keep their employment procedures up to date.”
Liz Geddes, Human Resources Adviser to the Dioceses of Chester, Liverpool and Manchester, says, “There are numerous risks that an employer must face, and it appears that voluntary groups are extremely vulnerable to HR issues. This sector can least afford to be sued, however lack-of funds, staff and time prevent them from safeguarding themselves. From accidentally employing a volunteer to incorrect interview questions, the danger to organisations is not just financial, but also to the reputation of the project within the community.”
Just Employment has been created by experts in human resources in conjunction with lead officers from the Dioceses of Chester, Liverpool and Manchester who work regularly with faith-based social action organisations. The resource will help small Christian based community projects to follow best practice, whether they are employing people for the first time or are already employing staff and working with volunteers. These materials are aimed to reassure small community and voluntary organisations giving them extra confidence as employers.
Just Employment' is available by registering on the Church Urban Fund Xchange website, http://www.cufx.org.uk/. The full resource includes a main guide, frequently asked questions and example case studies, as well as a library of documents that can be downloaded and customised for use by community organisations. These include suggested letters, contracts and policies and procedures, covering areas such as Health and Safety and Disciplinary and Grievance procedures.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
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Summary of Research
Over 200 community organisations were surveyed across England.
Difficulty recruiting
- 28.7% of community projects find it difficult to recruit across England.
- East Midlands finds it the most difficult to recruit (41.7%), followed-by the North-West (36.4%).
Current HR policies in place
- 12.1% of projects have no staff inductions in place, followed-by 12% with no expense policy, 10.7% with no training and development policy, 10.2% have no complaints procedure, 8.5% no performance and disciplinary procedures and 5,6% with no holiday or leave procedure.
Projects at Risk
- 19.3% of community groups believe their organisation is at risk due to HR issues.
- London organisations feel most at risk (28.10%) followed-by the North-West (27.3%) and East Midlands (25%).
Acting on New HR Legislations
- Over 60% of projects have not changed their HR policies following the Annual Leave (Amendment to Working Time Legislation) Regulations 2007, 54% the Health Act 2006, 49% the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 and 46% to the Disciplinary Discrimination Act 2005.
- North East projects are most likely to have not changed their HR policies with 70% of projects having done nothing to HR their HR policies further to the Annual Leave amendment and 60% have not acted further to the Disability Discrimination Act.
- The East of England projects were most likely to have not adhered to the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (67%).
- South West projects were least likely to have adhered to the Health Act 2006 (69%).
Access to Professional HR
- 59.2% of projects consider that they have no access to a professional in-house resource.
- North East projects are least likely to have an in-house resource (80%), followed by East Midlands (64%) followed by the South-West (62.5%).
Where projects go to keep up to date with employment regulations
- London projects are most likely to turn to the web for advice on HR issues (14.8%)
- East of England projects are just as likely to turn to friends and family as seek advice from an in-house department (25%)
Obligations to Volunteers
- 11% of organisations are not aware of the obligations applying to having volunteers.
- North-West projects are least likely to know what their obligations are to volunteers (30%) followed-by East of England 16.7% and then London (16.1%).
Dealing with disputes
- 30% of organisations have had to deal with disputed brought by staff in the last five years.
- East of England had to deal with most disputes (50%) followed-by the South-West (44%) and then West Midlands (41.4%)
About Church Urban Fund
The Church Urban Fund is a charity supporting churches and projects tackling poverty and injustice in England's poorest communities. Through funding local initiatives, sharing knowledge and raising awareness of social injustice, Church Urban Fund works to bring about significant and lasting change. Other key areas of work include partnering with other organisations to tackle the causes of poverty, advocating on behalf of faith communities at national level and the development of research and resources to support the work of local initiatives.
Over the twenty years in which the Church Urban Fund has been working, it has awarded more than 4,800 grant totalling over £60 million to projects working in England's poorest communities. Find out more at http://www.cuf.org.uk/.
About Just Employment
Just Employment can be downloaded from the Church Urban Fund Xchange website, an initiative of the Church Urban Fund, at http://www.cufx.org.uk/. The documents making up Just Employment have been drawn up by an employment specialist and the documents will be subject to annual updates.
*Suggested donations for the ‘Just Employment' resource for organisations with:
- 5 staff or under - £100
- 5-15 staff - £200
- 15 staff or over - £300
The suggested donations will help to offset CUF's expenses, covering the cost of development, production and updating of ‘Just Employment'.